Concrete Blonde Returns To Site Of Bad Trip

August 03, 1990|By Chris Heim.

Concrete Blonde does not look back very fondly on its last visit to Chicago. Nor, for that matter, do some fans.

``What was it, like 110 degrees that day, and I think it might have been a Sunday,`` says Johnette Napolitano, lead singer, songwriter and bassist for the band. ``We had a tire blow on the RV and we could not get it fixed. We finally get somebody to fix it. Two hours down the road, another tire blows. Our road crew is going, `Let`s just blow off the show.` And I`m like, `No, we can`t do that. It`s Chicago. It`s Harry`s (Rushakoff, the band`s former drummer) town. No way.`

``So we finally roll up just as House of Freaks are coming off. No sound check. No nothing. We have literally 10 minutes to dress, set up and get on stage. So we go back there and the guy from I.R.S. (the band`s label) comes back and goes: `I flew everybody in from Canada. All the retailers.` And I just looked at this guy going, `This is why we don`t allow you folks backstage before the set.`

``So I try very hard to relax very quickly. I belted down four shots of tequila. I got out there and just hit the floor. It was as simple as that.

``We got a couple of letters that were just scathing. One of them was really cool and really caring, like `I`m really concerned you`re

------- yourself up.` The other ones were like `You`re ------ up. I wasted $10 to see you.` And they were absolutely right. I wrote them back personally and I told them, `The next time we play there, you don`t pay a dime.`

``I felt really bad about it. But at the same time, I`m only human. We`ve never blown off a gig, never lost a show. I`ve had my ears bleeding going onstage from being on an airplane with a cold. I`ve been told by the Boston Hospital to blow off a week of shows and I`ve gone up there and played. But this was terrible. And I do feel bad about it up to this very minute. (Laughs) I`ll serve time in purgatory for it.``

But even tougher challenges were ahead for Concrete Blonde. Bassist Alan Bloch (who joined the group around the time of its second album) left the band, as did Rushakoff, Concrete Blonde`s drummer for four years.

``Harry fell in love in a big way,`` explains Napolitano. ``When he met this one, he wanted to stay home. When we got over to London and started recording (the latest and third album, ``Bloodletting``), Harry just was not into it. And we said: `Well, look, why not forget it? Go on home.` And he did. And it`s OK.``

Concrete Blonde has always had rather strange drummer karma. Rushakoff was a last-minute addition to the lineup of Napolitano and guitarist James Mankey when the band`s original drummer walked off just as a label deal and tour were set up. This time the fates had another player waiting in the wings, former Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson.

``Paul happened to see us play the night before in London,`` explains Napolitano. ``He showed up the next day in the studio and just fell right in as if he was in the band forever.

Despite or perhaps because of the turmoil, Concrete Blonde came up with some of its best work on its latest album. Though both the album and song titles suggest a dark, gloomy record, ``Bloodletting`` actually displays strong optimism, some surprisingly delicate touches and a rich, earthy sense of humor.

``The vampire song is downright funny to me,`` Napolitano says of the title track. ``It`s supposed to have been a real lighthearted romp through New Orleans.`` The song was inspired in part by the Anne Rice vampire novels, though Napolitano adds, ``I didn`t even get to the second and third ones because I heard Lestat turns into a rock star-which completely kills it for me.`` The first single, a light pop tune called ``Joey,`` has already hit No. 1 on the modern rock charts and could just be the ticket to the big time predicted for the band ever since its self-titled 1986 debut.

``I feel better about the band than I ever have. Personally, I`ve been working out every day for a year and a half. I lived in London for most of last year. No more drinking, no more smoking. I`ve just got tremendous energy and a more positive and happier attitude. So it`s working out much better all the way around.`` And it will work out fine when Concrete Blonde returns to Chicago, Napolitano promises. She can`t afford any more time in purgatory.

Basia, Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra, Friday at the World Music Theatre:

Basia has come a long way since doing Pat Benatar impersonations at a small Polish nightclub in Chicago. Her first solo album was a platinum-selling AC and light jazz favorite, while her latest, a smart set of sophisticated jazz- pop with a nice touch of Latin rhythms, took all of three weeks to go gold.